Historie znad Mekongu - Vu Images

Laos, Champassak, Paksong, June 24, 2009 On the way to Paksong, 1988. Returning to childhood's shores. "1988- The re-opening of Laos. I return to the country I left in the rattle of war ten years earlier. Emotions hurl at me like tropical rain: imperious, salutary, almighty. Through the downpour, I recognize the familiar silhouettes of my childhood, my grandmother Ba, the river's flamboyant bends, the street merchants? I'm bombarded with scents, sounds, sensations, all resonating in me like the incessant call of my native land: the rhythmic hammering of the rain on the tin roof, its redemptive breeze, the exhilarating aroma of ripe fruit, and the melodious, nonchalant cadence of the Laotian language. Nothing has changed, but it seems as if the ten years spent in isolation have frozen my childhood memories. Within the confusion of senses and emotions, the joy of being with my own people again is blended with the dim sadness of the exile, like the phantom pain of an amputated limb, which will never leave me. Leaving and coming back, breaking away and then returning to seek refuge, the eternal back and forth of the river's child". L?m Duc Hien Laos, Champassak, 24 juin 2009 Sur la route de Paksong, 1988. Regagner les rives de l'enfance. ??Reouverture du Laos en 1988. Je retrouve le pays que j'ai quitte 10 ans plus t?t dans le fracas de la guerre. Les emotions devalent sur moi comme les pluies tropicales, imperieuses, salutaires, toutes puissantes. ? travers le rideau d'eau, je distingue les silhouettes familicres de ma vie d'enfant, ma grand-mcre Br, les flamboyants penches sur le fleuve, les vendeurs de rue? Je suis assailli d'odeurs, de sons, de sensations qui resonnent en moi comme l'appel incessant de la terre natale?: le martclement cadence de la pluie sur la t?le des toits, son souffle salvateur, l'odeur enivrante des fruits m?rs, le carillon melodieux et nonchalant de la langue laotienne. Rien n'a change, mais les 10 an